Thinking about buying a card model? Here's why eBay is not your best bet . . .

[ccoyle]

Hey, there. This post is for those who may be new to card modeling and might be thinking about buying one. Here's some advice: unless you know what to look for, avoid eBay as a source for card models. Why? To answer that, let's look at the following eBay screen capture, showing page one of the results obtained by searching for "paper models," with the search narrowed to aircraft and sorted by newly listed:

 

 

Anything jump out at you? That's right -- nearly all of those models are originating in China. And you know what else they have in common? Every kit coming from China has been illegally scanned and copied from a legitimate kit. In many cases, I know who published the original design. Sadly, it is extremely easy to scan a card model and make copies of it, and a quick survey of eBay shows that nearly 80% of the card models listed there are illegal copies. This is an example of IP infringement. It's theft, and it's wrong.

 

Same as for wooden kits, pirated card model kits are not welcome at MSW. Help support card model designers and publishers by only purchasing models from trusted sources -- think of it as an investment in the future of card modeling. If you have a question about a particular model, feel free to shoot me a PM.

 

Cheers!

[CDW]

A copy of a 1:1 Barrett? I would be interested in the original of that kit.

[ccoyle]

3 minutes ago, CDW said:

A copy of a 1:1 Barrett? I would be interested in the original of that kit.

 

1:1 firearms are a niche within the card modeling community. I don't build them myself and have little interest in them, so I'm not super-familiar with the sources. But there are examples of them here and there for sale, such as here.

[0Seahorse]

On 10/20/2021 at 8:37 PM, CDW said:

A copy of a 1:1 Barrett? I would be interested in the original of that kit.

A cardboard weapon in a 1: 1 scale is the specialty of a modeler from Poland, Jarek Rokita. You can see his work on FB  at "Kartonowy Arsenał Broni". Incredible that everything is made of cardboard.
Tom

[Keith Black]

 The M79 was a fun weapon to shoot. It had an easy kick with a pleasant 'thunk' when fired.

[mtaylor]

26 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

 The M79 was a fun weapon to shoot. It had an easy kick with a pleasant 'thunk' when fired.

And a satisfying "boom" on the recieving end.

[Kevin]

34 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

And a satisfying "boom" on the recieving end.

i doubt it was very satisfying for those on the receiving end

[Kevin]

1 hour ago, 0Seahorse said:

A cardboard weapon in a 1: 1 scale is the specialty of a modeler from Poland, Jarek Rokita. You can see his work on FB  at "Kartonowy Arsenał Broni". Incredible that everything is made of cardboard.
Tom

(2) Kartonowy Arsenał Broni | Facebook

[CDW]

It's always more blessed to give than receive.

[CDW]

Just now, Kevin said:

(2) Kartonowy Arsenał Broni | Facebook

Incredible work.

Over here in the States, ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) would be knocking at the door if they saw those on one's facebook page. They look so real.

[mtaylor]

21 minutes ago, CDW said:

Incredible work.

Over here in the States, ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) would be knocking at the door if they saw those on one's facebook page. They look so real.

I sure wouldn't carry one out in public that's for sure.  You'd be created by the SWAT team most likely.

[Keith Black]

5 hours ago, mtaylor said:

And a satisfying "boom" on the recieving end

 Mark, you fired one. If memory serves, you could get off two rounds (provided the arc was high enough) before the first one landed. Is that correct or have I watched too many war movies since our Vietnam getaway? 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Keith Black

[mtaylor]

I fired one in training with a grenade.  It was infantry training after boot camp.  Never did one in anger.  Did have access to one with flechete rounds.   I think you have me confused with someone else.

[Keith Black]

3 hours ago, mtaylor said:

I think you have me confused with someone else.

 Nor did I, Mark, my experience like yours was in AIT. Maybe it was a slow day and the instructors let us play around a bit longer than usual. 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Keith Black

[mikegr]

i personally avoid ebay as much as possible, commissions for sellers has rised a lot, means prices have gone up.

Some PE parts i bought straight from shop, prices where 40% cheaper than listed on ebay.

[amateur]

There is a second category of pirated kits: some of the major card-forums, and some individual builders, have 'free download models'. Quite a number  of them end up for nice prices on the internet.

Edited December 15, 2021 by amateur

[Nirvana]

I bought four kits directly from a polish manufacturer for same numbers of Swedish naval ships. 
Currently not available from any other!

Time of waiting was almost none to get it delivered. 

But yes, I see how easy it is to create "IP theft and infringement" in this category.

All you need is a scanner and a printer. Unfortunately, way too easy!

I don't understand why people want to go the cheap way.
The plans may not have been scanned 100% accurately, just to save you a few lousy dollars to get away with something you will know it's not from the right manufacturer.

 

Integrity and personal honesty will bottom down.

Once you have ordered a "stolen item" from an online dealer, you are complicit.

And you will do it again.

You will become a felon!

I sleep better knowing I have ordered my kits and items from the right source, just to pay slightly more for the item. 

Just used "two cents" of cost posting this input.......😃 that is my pure inspiration and writing. 

Do I need to copy(w)right this input as well.....     lol

[ccoyle]

See how long it takes you to spot why this eBay seller is not your friend!

 

[ccoyle]

Here's another one. The seller is legitimate, but why would this offer not be a good deal?

 

[Keith Black]

 Chris, on the first one above I'm not seeing what you're evidently seeing but I went to eBay and brought of the item. The seller has a 98.7% positive feedback in the last year. Two natural and three negative feedback out of 203 sales isn't too bad. The seller is out of Moldova, we all got be from somewhere. The biggest kicker, which you can't tell from the above is, delivery is scheduled between March 30th and April 15th. That kinda smacks of a reseller probably getting their stuff from China, maybe?

 

 The second one, I'm stumped. You're getting five models for a maximum of 34.99 plus 10.50 shipping from a seller with a 100% rating. 

 

 That's all I got but then the only thing I know about card modeling is watching you and a very few others.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by Keith Black

[ccoyle]

4 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

I'm not seeing what you're evidently seeing

 

They've used the promo photo for Mamoli's wooden kit.

[Keith Black]

9 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

They've used the promo photo for Mamoli's wooden kit.

 I'm sure they think once you've finished building the model it's gonna look just like Mamoli's wooden kit.    But hey, the seller's from Moldova, they got Russian troops camped out in their backyard. Maybe that's why the delayed shipping. 

 

 The lesson's not lost. Buyer beware has never been more true than in today's world. 

[ccoyle]

Here's another loser trying to find a sucker on eBay. After all, he only needs one.

 

[amateur]

Wait, aren't rhein/mosel, and cerberus the free downloads of papershipwright? The other two cost 6.50 (pounds) each. Total package ending up slightly below 15 pounds when bought at papershipwright. 

https://www.papershipwright.co.uk/category/free-downloads/

 

Pretty good deal for the ebay-guy.

 

The Panther looks 'a bit' like the HMV-card model. But I can't see whether it is the HMV-version of it. And perhaps someone likes to buy a rather small diorama, the pics don't look too bad.

Or do I miss something else in that last one?

 

Jan

Edited January 31, 2022 by amateur

[ccoyle]

1 hour ago, amateur said:

Wait, aren't rhein/mosel, and cerberus the free downloads of papershipwright?

Yep. So the buyer is paying for five kits, two of which he could get for free from the publisher.

 

1 hour ago, amateur said:

The Panther looks 'a bit' like the HMV-card model. But I can't see whether it is the HMV-version of it.

It is. It's also not particularly well built, and it's the second HMV kit I saw the seller trying to pawn off as a scratch build.

[JKC27]

This makes me think of the 1:400 scale Edmund Fitzgerald paper model I bought an eBay a couple years ago.  Still haven't built it, but I know it was from China.  I think I only paid like $10.00.  Now I see it is likely a copy of the JSC model.  Damn.....  wish I would have come across this post back then!

 

 

[Dave_E]

After researching the online hobby shops and sponsors here on MSW when I was deciding what and where to buy and comparing prices etc., the price of a kit on eBay or Amazon.com was my first clue something was amiss. 

[catopower]

Yeah, I've seen too many questionable kits, both in paper and in wood on ebay. These days, the only things I'll use ebay for is if I feel like getting materials or tools when I can't find them elsewhere. Well, that and used computers. Pretty hard to pirate that stuff!

 

But, thanks for the original posting Chris. I'd actually looked at a couple kits I was familiar with and considered buying off of ebay. This is a good reminder not to do that. The particular ones are easy enough to get from gpm.pl where I've purchased many things before.

 

Plus, when you go to legit seller's websites, you often discover so much other cool stuff you just gotta buy, including kits as well as after-market accessories, etc.

Edited April 6, 2022 by catopower